The Quiet One
by MintyDaze
Summary: "Raivis knew he was in trouble. BIG trouble…. No HUGE trouble. He had just broken Russia's favorite vase. Latvia knew he had to clean it all up before Ivan could see. As soon as he grabbed the broom he heard Ivan's heavy boots come down the stairs." Rated T for Language and Violence COMPLETED.
1. Broken Vase

**Hi it's MintyDaze~ So I've found my forte and it's not with Romantic Comedy. I will have more fanfics like these.  
**

**Warning: There is violence and Gore if you can't handle My Little Pony: Cupcakes I don't recommend you read this.  
**

The Quiet One

Chapter 1: Broken Vase

Raivis knew he was in trouble. BIG trouble…. No HUGE trouble. He had just broken Ivan Braginski's favorite vase. Raivis knew he had to clean it all up before Ivan could see. As soon as he grabbed the broom he heard Ivan's heavy boots come down the stairs.

"Did I hear something Raivis?" Ivan's calm voice sounded from down the hall.

Raivis jumped. "WUAH! No! Of course not Mr. Braginski!" Raivis quickly swept the glass under the rug.

Ivan walked by wearing his business suit which consisted of dark slacks, a warm yellow turtle neck, and a brown jacket, smiling his usual creepy smile. "Good," he continued. "Because, I'd hate for you to have broken something, da?" He walked into his office.

Raivis trembled . "Y-yes sir Mr. Braginski!" H managed to stutter before running to the liquor cabinet and grabbed some Vodka, he gulped some of it down before he scuttled quickly out of the kitchen. He tried to sneak past Ivan's office hoping the silver haired man was busy working to notice him.

Ivan sat in his large office chair his elbows propped on the desk. "Raivis," he called out in a cheerful yet threatening tone.

Raivis had already crawled half-way up the stairs. He froze and slunk back down to Ivan's office and peeked in. "Y-yes Mr. Braginski?"

Ivan sat in his office chair is chin resting in his hand, he held up a small piece of the vase. "Don't you know that glass can travel for up to over six feet?"

"Well… I" Raivis started.

Ivan stood up slowly chanting, "Kolkolkolkolkolkolkolkolkolk olkolkol."

Raivis shook uncontrollably. He opened his mouth, when suddenly the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" He said relieved. He opened the door to a short feminine Chinese man who shivered from the cold despite the fact he wore thick pants, heavy boots, and a large black coat over a warm red sweater.

"H-hello Mr. Wang," Raivis managed to stutter out.

"Hi, is Ivan home-aru?" Yao asked.

Ivan walked out of his office into the hallway and strolled over to them smiling. "Hello Yao," he greeted the Chinese man.

Raivis stepped out of the way trying not to make eye contact with Ivan while two men peered into the room worried for the boy. One had short brown hair and worried blue eyes, the other had trim blonde hair and glasses that threatened to slip off the edge of his nose every time he trembled or became frightened. They both hurried off to other parts of the house when Ivan glanced back at them.

Ivan put his hand on Raivis's head rather hard. "How are you today?" he asked his Chinese friend.

"I'm fine aru," Yao replied dusting snow off his shoulders, disturbing his ponytail. "Mind if I come in? It's really cold out-aru."

"Certainly," Ivan said smiling, though his smile became softer as he looked at Yao.

Yao walked into the warm house and sighed happily as the warmth spread over him. "I was just trying to get away from Im Young aru."

Ivan got a dark aura around him. "Was he being a pervert again?"

As Yao and Ivan talked, Raivis slipped away and went back to the liquor cabinet, he took a few more swigs of the vodka letting the heavy drink calm him. He put the bottle back quickly and ran upstairs to go to his living quarters. Feeling dizzy from the alcohol he stopped halfway and sat on the stairs wiping the Vodka off his lips. He pulled nervously at his red and gold uniform that stretched uncomfortably in some places while the seams on his sleeves hung loose from being pulled by Ivan.

"Want me to go talk to Im Young?" Ivan asked brandishing his pipe from nowhere.

"No… that's okay aru," Yao said quickly not wanting another fight to breakout. "I just needed to get away and relax."

Raivis glanced back at Ivan and Yao through the bars of the railing curious on how Yao could possibly relax in this large, cold house run by an insane Russian and his even more psychotic sister who had a knife fetish.

"Well just say the word and I'll do anything for you," Ivan said gently caressing the other's hair gently brushing away any remaining snow before it melted. "Because, you're my delicate flower," he finished.

"Ivan aru…" Yao whispered blushed touched his cheeks lightly.

Ivan pulled Yao into a hug, then leaned down and kissed him warming his cold lips.

Yao stretched up on his toes and kissed back crushing their lips together and locked his fingers into Ivan's soft, silver hair.

Raivis froze knowing he'd seen something he wasn't supposed to see. He suddenly felt dizzy again, he knew he had to run before his boss or Yao saw him, standing up too quickly he lost his balance and fell down the stairs slamming into a coat stand. He groaned feeling bruises form on his back and shoulders.

Ivan turned sharply at the noise and walked over to Raivis. He picked up the coat rack and looked at the quivering boy. Raivis scrambled up to his feet despite the searing pain he was in.

"I-I'm sorry sir," he stammered. "It's just that… n-never mind."

Ivan pressed down hard on the brown haired boy's head. "What is it you want to say Raivis?"

"I-it's just that I've never seen you give somebody so much affection," Raivis shook under Ivan's hand. "Normally you're so heartless and cruel." He soon realized he said the wrong words when Ivan's large hand became heavier. He mentally kicked himself for being such a ditz as his friend Peter put it.

"Why is it you're so short Raivis?" he asked in a way saying he already knew the answer.

Raivis whimpered the pressure already starting to hurt his neck. "Maybe it's because you keep pressing down on my head and crushing my spine together," he choked out.

Ivan picked up Raivis up ready to stretch him when Yao spoke up. "I thought you were going to spend time with me aru," he said pouting slightly. Yao loved Ivan a lot but hated seeing the way he treated the people he lived with.

Ivan smiled and dropped Raivis; he walked back over to Yao while the still trembling Raivis scurried upstairs. He was stopped by Natalia a light blonde haired girl with cold blue eyes and a major brother complex, who enjoyed tormenting Raivis almost as much as her brother did.

She shoved him into the wall and threw a few nasty insults while she cut into him with her knife. Raivis bit his bottom lip; tears rolled down his cheeks much to Natalia's delight. She hissed another insult and cut into his arm.

Meanwhile, Ivan returned to Yao and caressed his cheek, pulling him back in. Yao's small frame pressed perfectly to Ivan's larger frame. They crushed their lips together passionately, the heat warming them instantly. The Chinese man ran his fingers through Ivan's silver hair, locking and twisting his fingers as they kissed.

Natalia kicked Raivis away like a puppy that got underfoot and stalked downstairs. When saw her brother. Her gaze grew cold and she held up her trademark knife. "GET AWAY FROM BIG BROTHER!" she screeched and started towards them.

Ivan shrieked in fear and scooped up Yao running from his obsessive sister, crying "Go away" over and over. Natalia chased them through the living room persistently. Ivan slowed her down by flipping the large leather couch towards her and running down the hall that circled back into the entryway. He clambered up the stairs refusing to let go of the frightened Chinese man in his arms and soon reached his room slamming the door shut and locking the dead bolt. Ivan sighed and set Yao down gently on the floor before rushing around his room.

Yao looked around the quaint room; the pastel yellow walls were dark as the only light in the room came from the moonlight shining through the pristine, white curtains.

A pounding came at the door startling Yao. "Big Brother!" Natalia cried dragging her nails down the heavy wooden door. "Let me in dammit!"

Ivan had already started pushing his already sparse furniture in front of the door, his dresser, the nightstand, and the letter desk. Then he ran over to his bed and heaved it to its side so it stood as a barrier to shield him and Yao in case of debris. Ivan sat down and hugged his knees to his chest trembling almost as bad as Raivis did.

"Ivan," Yao said softly wrapping his arms around the scared Russian man. Ivan relaxed as Yao stroked his hair and whispered soothing words. Ivan wrapped a large, warm blanket around them and they continued what they had started downstairs. Natalia's pounds, scratches, and threats were soon ignored as they were lost in each other feeling like the only two people in the world.

Later that night, Natalia tired herself out and stood vigil outside Ivan's room. She knew he had to come out sometime and when he did she would be ready for him. She heard the creak of a door opening, she whirled around. "Big brother!" she called excitedly as she held up her knife threateningly. Suddenly a hand flew over her mouth and pushed her back into the wall rattling the pictures that hung.

Natalia's eyes widened as the knife was wrenched from her grip and plunged into her side. She tried to scream but it was cut off when the hand squeezed moved from her mouth to her throat. Her knife was jammed into her body over and over. The knife cracked her bones and her flesh tore painfully away.

Blood splattered on the walls and dripped onto the wooden floor and ornate rug. The sickly sweet scent filled the hallway until the air became thick.

Natalia cried and tried to beg for mercy finally feeling like the victim for the first time in her life. She tasted the metallic taste of blood in the back of her throat. She tried to swallow but it kept rising until she vomited the dark red liquid all over her killer's hand. She spat trying to breath but it started clogging her airway and she choked spitting it back up.

Natalia started wondering why she wouldn't just die yet and have this torture end. Her head dropped and though it was dark in the hallway she saw the killer strategically stabbed her in a way that she would die in the most slow and painful way possible.

The killer let go of Natalia and she dropped to the floor like a lead weight. She tried to look for him but could not see farther than her blood stained fingertips.

"Not as much fun at the other end of the blade," the disembodied voice taunted menacingly.

Natalia scowled and tried to look brave and scary but at that moment all she looked like was a sad little girl slowly dying. Her vision blurred and she pressed herself into the rug crying weakly for help. Sadly no one could hear her through the thick walls and heavy wooden doors. She felt her ribbon come loose from her hair.

"Just a little souvenir," the killer chuckled. "After all we want to remember this, right?"

Natalia clenched her fists as her life ebbed away. The killer clucked their tongue and lifted her chin with the blade of the knife. "I want to hear you beg for mercy," he smirked.

"Please," Natalia started.

"Please, what?" The killer urged.

"Go fuck yourself," she spat.

Her killer glared and slit her throat..

Natalia took one last shuddering breath and slipped into darkness. Her blood spread across the floor and dried into the carpet. The killer decided to have just a teensy bit of fun with her remains and picked up the limp body which was quickly stiffening with rigor mortis.


	2. Ceiling Fan

Chapter 2

Yao woke up the next morning warm sunlight streaming onto his face. He lay on the floor next to Ivan under a pile of warm blankets, a soft white pillow tucked under their heads.

Yao's heart fluttered when he saw how sweet Ivan looked as he slept his pink scarf wrapped around him like a security blanket, their faces just inches apart Yao saw every detail of his angelic looking lover.

The golden sunlight making his silver hair glow, his eyes shifting beneath closed eyelids, his eyelashes flicked from time to time as he dreamed, a small sigh escaped him and he shifted his forehead now pressing to Yao's. Yao smiled and brushed Ivan's bangs back, his smile fell when he realized something was wrong. Something didn't feel right, didn't smell right.

A shiny object caught Yao's attention. He glanced up and saw the doorknob with pieces of wood still attached lay a few feet away. The furniture was pushed away from the door. He looked back at Ivan and noticed small brown specks littered his face like paint.

Yao felt something wet hit his cheek; he wiped it with his hand and saw a red smear on his thumb. His eyes widened as he realized it was blood. Yao slowly looked up and saw Natalia suspended from the ceiling by several ropes attached to the ceiling fan and opposite wall, her clothes hung in shreds where she was stabbed blood still oozing from the wounds, her glassy eyes were stretched wide in terror, her nose bent at an odd angle.

Yao couldn't move nor speak until sickening sound of flesh tearing and bones cracking sounded and Natalia's heart slipped from her chest and landed on Yao's chest, at that moment he let out a terrified screech echoing throughout the house and waking its inhabitants.

Ivan sat up and saw the blood his eyes stretching wide in horror. Raivis ran in and snapped on the light also activating the ceiling fan. "Why are you screaming?" he asked strangely unaware of the body on the ceiling. Eduard and Toris, the other two inhabitants ran in.

Toris let out a strangled cry when he saw Natalia, the love of his life suspended from the ceiling.

"What happened?" Eduard repeated shocked. Raivis finally noticed the girl hanging from the ceiling. He let out a groan and leaned against the doorway.

Everyone started screaming and asking questions unaware the fan was still turning pulling the body tighter and tighter. A loud snap silenced everyone. Natalia's torso fell to the floor, her limbs flew in either direction spraying blood around the room. Her head bounced off the wall and landed in the center of the room.

Toris let out a low moan and fainted unable to handle this gory scene. Yao pressed a hand to his throat and turned to the side, he started vomiting up what little he had in his stomach, his body shuddered repulsed by what he just witnessed. Ivan put his hands to the side of his head and closed his eyes trying to wake himself up from this nightmare.

Eduard hurried to the phone in the hall slipping on some blood nearly falling on his back. He swallowed some vomit rising in his mouth and dialed 911.

An hour later a British man with blonde hair and bushy eyebrows and a small Japanese man with dark eyes were at the door. Eduard, the only one able to stay remotely calm, let them in and explained to them what he knew, he led them to the living room where everyone moved to. Raivis was huddled up in a corner while Toris lay passed out on the couch, Ivan sat still, he didn't acknowledge that anyone was there. He stared straight ahead with a blank stare while Yao sat next to him hugging a bucket in his lap.

"Right, well I'm Arthur Kirkland and this is my partner Kiku Honda," Arthur said, the Japanese man bowed politely. A forensics team came in consisting of an American man with light brown hair, blue eyes and glasses, a German man with neat, slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, a Hungarian woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail and kind green eyes, and a Norwegian man with light blonde hair and light blue eyes all walked in.

"Hey!" The American called out. "Don't forget us."

Arthur sighed in annoyance. "This is Alfred, Ludwig, Elizabeta, and Lukas the forensics team, they'll gather up the evidence, now if you'll kindly show us where the murder took place."

Eduard nodded. "Of course," he said and led the investigation team upstairs. "Here," he opened the door.

Arthur looked at the gory sight, gagged slightly and turned to the German man. "Ludwig, would you go back downstairs and question everyone while we gather evidence? Make sure no one leaves until everyone has been interviewed"

"Ja," Ludwig nodded taking out a notebook and pen before going back downstairs with Eduard.

"Oh God whoever did this must love making a big mess," Alfred said wrinkling his nose in disgust as he gathered his equipment.

"I wonder who did this to the poor girl," Elizaveta said sadly putting numbers by what she thought would be evidence.

Kiku pulled out a camera and took pictures of everything Elizaveta put numbers by.

"I don't know but whoever did this was a twisted bastard," Lukas said as he prepared a cooler to put the body parts in. They worked for a while gathering evidence and investigating every corner of the room and the entire hallway. After a few hours everything was gathered and cleaned up.

"I'll take this stuff to the lab," Lukas said as Alfred helped him take everything to the truck waiting up front.

"Despite the fact that this was a brutal killing the murderer knew what he was doing and was careful not to leave any prints, skin cells, or hair fibers," Kiku reported.

Arthur ran his finger through his blonde hair. "Blast, well we'll just ask Ludwig what he found out from his interviews and perhaps something will turn up."

Kiku nodded and they went downstairs. Toris sat in a large chair eyes red from crying. Ivan and Yao sat on the couch, Ivan stared straight ahead in shock while Yao rubbed his arm and shoulder whispering soothing words to him.

Ludwig sat in a chair trying to interview Raivis. The boy was trembling and crying, his voice shook so much it was hard to understand what he was saying. Ludwig glanced back at his co-workers and then wrapped up the interview. "Thank you all for your time, I'm sorry for your loss"

As soon as everyone left Arthur and Kiku taped the place down for and stayed behind to gather any left behind evidence, they searched every inch of the house finding nothing new.

Several hours later they had a board set up with pictures and information of the crime scene.

"What have we got?" Kiku asked sipping his tea.

"The girl's name was Natalia Braginski, she was the sister of Ivan Braginski, she was killed at around 3 am and was found four hours later at 7 am," Arthur told him. "Apparently the girl could give someone a reason to murder her."

"How so?" a short Asian woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, named Lien asked.

"She was mean, cruel, apparently had a knife fetish and a big brother complex," Ludwig explained looking at his notes. "She would insult or attempt to murder anyone who even looked at her brother; the one called Toris admired her dedication and fell for her because of it. She has been arrested for multiple assault and attempted murder charges."

Lien snorted. "If she's as psychotic as you said I think she might be better off dead and the murderer deserves a pat on the back."

"The murderer is still out there and he might go after an innocent person next time," Kiku argued.

"Kiku is right," Arthur put in. "If this girl was as twisted as the others say imagine how much more sick and twisted her murderer is."

"So far the ones we know who had an incentive for the murder was the brother or his lover," Ludwig said trying to move things along. "Natalia was hung in their room as they slept, Ivan claimed he barricaded the door so Natalia couldn't get in and hurt Yao. Only one of them could have moved the furniture."

"Well that narrows it down to two subjects, Lien go down to autopsy and ask Gilbert and Felicano what they found," Arthur ordered.

Lien sighed and grumbled to herself as she went to the Autopsy lab in the basement. She keyed herself in and watched as an albino German man and a chestnut haired and smiling Italian man worked on piecing together the body and going through the damage. It amazed her how they could work so well in autopsy, Gilbert acted like a big child while Feliciano was sensitive and cried easy, yet when they worked they joked and laughed no matter how gruesome the body was. She heard Gilbert's strange and irritating laugh.

"Kesesese…," He chuckled lifting Natalia's head after cleaning it up so he could see the damage more easily. "Feli to be awesome you have to get a _head _in life."

Feliciano chuckled at the joke. "I guess you deserve a hand Gil," he responded holding up Natalia's severed arm.

"Would you two stop screwing around and look at the damn evidence already?" Lien groaned.

"Si," Feliciano said and replaced his gloves, he hummed to himself happily as he scoured the body digging his finger into the wound a while later he nodded to Gilbert and the man ran a device over the body, a 3D image appeared on his computer screen.

"Okie dokie we have an analysis," Feliciano alerted Lien after several hours.

The woman stood up and stretched. "Finally, what do we got?"

"The killer strategically stabbed her so she wouldn't die immediately," Feliciano explained. "She would be powerless to fight back and he basically cut her so she would pull apart easily by the ceiling fan."

"So a person who has a way with knives," Lien said frankly.

"But the strange thing is after the girl had already died she was hit with a blunt instrument across her face," Gilbert put in.

"Weird," Lien furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to think. "Okay, thanks guys." She called out before going upstairs with her information.

"You're welcome," the two men answered before going back to their bodily puns.

Lien shared her learned information with the three other men.

"Well, this is interesting," Arthur said. Kiku nodded in agreement. "Let's hope we catch this bastard before he kills anyone else."

~~~~~~~~~  
Toris walked into his home, Feliks his blonde haired, flamboyantly gay best friend followed him.

"It will, like, be okay Tori," Feliks said. "I'll make sure you forget about Natalia, okay?"

Toris could only nod and try to hold back his tears.

Feliks led his Lithuanian friend to the living room. "I'll like totally make you some soup and peroghi and you'll like, feel so better."

Toris nodded and hugged a couch cushion. "Thanks Feliks," he mumbled.

Feliks smiled and went into the kitchen to make comfort food for his heart broken friend. When the soup was simmering he went and sat next to Toris and put a comforting arm around him. "Everything will be okay… I should have like stayed with you last night but like you know how Ivan gets around me ever since I like picked one of his sunflowers and his sister like totally pissed me off and chased me around."

"Yeah," Toris mumbled. "But… I might know who did it."

Felik's eyes widened. "Omg how?"

"You know how I have that sleep disorder caused by stress and have to get up in the middle of the night?" Feliks nodded. "Well I went out into the hallway and saw a dark figure dragging Natalia into Mr. Braginski's room."

"Did you now," Feliks looked interested.

"I can't be too sure… but I think it was" a loud crash interrupted him.

Feliks stood up and his timer went off. "Toris can you like check that out? I need to like get the biscuits," Feliks asked.

Toris sighed and nodded figuring it was just Felik's cat Mr. Fluffilicious. He went upstairs and saw the fluffy blonde cat look at him swishing his tail with as much sass as his owner. Toris picked up the bronze horse statue that had been knocked over and inspected it for any damage, finding none he set it back down, the floor boards creaked and he whirled around. "Feliks?"

He felt something smash against the side of his head. He landed on the ground and tried to see who hit him. His vision blurred the dark figure standing over him. "Please, don't…" he cried weakly.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't have any witnesses, I'm just lucky you didn't say anything when you were interviewed," the voice was muffled by Toris' ringing ears.

"I won't tell… please let me live," Toris begged starting to cry. He felt something hit his leg, he cried out in pain feeling his leg swell up, the bone fractured from the force. His killer started hitting him repeatedly. He realized he was being hit with the bronze horse statue. He screamed when the ear dug itself into his stomach.

The killer grunted in frustration and tried to wrench the statue out, when it finally pulled free a large chunk of flesh came with it. Toris clutched his side and curled up trying to protect himself. He closed his eyes wishing the pain would be over. When it let up he gasped in pain and stood up trying to run, he screamed for Feliks.

Toris' vision went dark and the veins in his eyes pulsed when the horse connected with his skull. He was pushed forward and slammed into the window. He felt his skull connect with the glass one, two, three, four, five times before it shattered and he went flying out, he hit the ground hard feeling more bones shatter. Crying and calling for help he crawled blindly across the yard and into the street, a sharp pain in his back stopped him and just before he succumbed to darkness he saw a bright red object come straight towards him.


	3. Horse Statue

**Hello, another fantastically made Chapter! So if anybody feels that things are unclear and don't make sense well… IT'S A MYSTERY! It's not supposed to make sense. I'm sorry if you don't like it but you know you can always stop reading and leave it alone instead of leaving a message that helps boost my self-esteem… anyway I hope you enjoy this next Chapter. I do not own Hetalia. –Love MintyDaze**

Chapter 3

Horse Statue

Alfred and his brother Matthew blocked off the street to keep any other cars out of the crime scene.

"I'm so sorry," the woman who was in the car sobbed. "I didn't see him, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Alfred turned around to look at the crying Ukrainian woman. She had short platinum blonde hair held back by a yellow headband and crisscross bobby pins. She wore light blue overalls, muddy black boots, and a white shirt that threatened to pop open from her large chest. Her dark gray eyes were moist with tears. She kept repeating her apologies.

"Right," Alfred said trying to keep his eyes on the woman's face. "Just stay here or we'll be forced to arrest you for fleeing a crime scene."

Her eyes widened in shock at the thought of being arrested. "No please," she cried. "I can't go to prison, my farm will perish and then I'll never be able to pay my little brother back."

Matthew sighed and ran his fingers through his wavy light brown hair. He hated how his brother could be so insensitive. He handed Alfred the yellow police tape and took the woman's hand patting it softly. "Hey," he told her in his quiet voice, she looked up at him her lip trembled as she tried not to cry. "This doesn't look like a usual car accident for a resident area so we'll investigate and find the truth, okay?"

She nodded and rubbed her face on her sleeve.

"What's your name," Matthew asked.

"K-Katsyusha," she said through her tears.

Arthur sent Ludwig over to take notes on the conversation. The German complied and readied his notebook. Katsyusha stared into Matthew's violet eyes unaware she was being investigated.

"Alright Katsyusha, why did you come to the neighborhood today?" Mathew asked.

"I was here to see my little brother Ivan and my sister Natalia," Katsyusha said going to her red pick-up truck, she lifted the blanket showing the crates filled with fruits, vegetables, eggs, and bottles of milk. "I try to pay my brother back by giving him produce from my farm I hadn't seen them for a few months and decided to pay them a visit."

Matthew nodded and she set the blanket back gently over her produce. "Are your siblings Ivan and Natalia Braginski?"

Katsyusha smiled. "Oh, do you know them?" she asked. "Yes they are my siblings, my brother is such a sweetie and my sister is so dedicated, I love them both so much."

Alfred exchanged glances with Elizabeta, Kiku, Lukas and Arthur. Elizabeta and Kiku quickly went back to taking pictures. Arthur raised his unusually thick eyebrows, shook his head and pretended to look at notes.

"I'm not telling her," Lukas said bluntly.

"Tell me what?" Katsyusha's smile slid off her face.

Alfred looked at Matthew and nodded at him. Matthew sighed not wanting to upset the woman further. He cleared his throat and looked back at her.

"Natalia Braginski was found dead this morning, she had apparently been murdered," Matthew explained he felt his heart break a little when the blonde haired woman gave the look of a kicked puppy.

Katsyusha fell to her knees and looked down at the pavement. "No, please, don't let it be true."

"I'm so sorry," Matthew said kneeling down next to her, setting his hand on her shoulder.

"No!" she cried and hugged Matthew sobbing. "My little sister can't be dead, she can't, she was so strong. She wouldn't allow it!"

Everyone at the scene including Lukas felt their hearts break slightly as she wailed for her lost sibling. Alfred felt sick to his stomach as he scraped the body off the pavement for the first time since he was a rookie. His eyes widened as he recognized the one being zipped into the body bag.

"That was-," he got interrupted when Feliks walked out to the street calling Toris' name.

"Where, like, did you go?" Feliks asked. "I couldn't find you anywhere! There's like some icky red stuff upstairs and a broken window."

"Well, now we know where part of the scene happened," Arthur said. He nodded to his team and they ran inside the house relieved to be away from Katsyusha unable to bear hearing her cries.

Ludwig sighed and went up to Feliks, he told the Polish man the news about his Lithuanian friend.

"If this is, like, a joke," Feliks said tears coming to his eyes. "It's totally not funny."

Ludwig shook his head. "I'm afraid I have to bring you in for questioning."

Feliks stood there his eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe his best friend was dead so shortly after his best friend's crush died. He furiously rubbed his eyes and glared up at the sky that was beginning in a sunset, angry that it wasn't raining and gloomy to mourn his friend. He cried into his hands. "This is totally unfair!" he screamed.

Alfred walked out of the house. "Jeez whoever is committing these murders is definitely making a big show out of it, they're not being subtle at all," he commented loudly.

Matthew, who was still hugging and trying to comfort Katsyusha glared at his loud-mouth brother trying to get him to shut up.

Alfred got the memo for once and closed his mouth with a snap. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and moved the equipment into the house to busy himself.

Kiku walked out and packed his camera up. "I don't berieve Braginski-san kirred Toris with her car so she is free of accidentar man sraughter," He said frankly.

"Then what was it?" Arthur asked annoyed that his investigations are piling up; he didn't have time to track down two killers even with Kiku's help. He stuffed his notebook into his uniform pocket and pulled off the rubber gloves.

"Braginski-san was not going nearly fast enough to kirr someone," Kiku explained. "The damage on the body was worse than it would have been in a car accident. We have reason to berieve he died before he was hit."

Arthur ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair and sighed, then a thought occurred to him. "Hold up, was the body identification Toris Laurinatis?" he asked.

Kiku looked at Ludwig who nodded in confirmation.

"Bollocks!" Arthur grumbled in frustration. "I figured he must have known something during interrogation but he didn't say anything so I just dismissed it as being nervous."

"So you're saying he might have known who the killer is but was afraid to say anything?" Ludwig asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Arthur said. "And look where it got him!" Arthur's thoughts began racing a million miles per hour. "So that must mean that whoever did it was in the room with them, we'll go back to Head Quarters and look back over the interviews."

Kiku nodded. "What wirr we do about Braginski-san?" he asked. "I assume it wouldn't be a good time for her to visit famiry until we get everything sorted out."

Arthur thought for a moment. "We'll have someone escort her home and watch over her."

"Good idea, if someone went after her sister then they might go after her as werr," Kiku agreed. "We just need a reriabre officer to go with her."

Matthew, who was standing by and listening the whole time spoke up. "I'll do it," he volunteered. He wanted to make sure Katsyusha would be alright, she seemed incredibly sensitive and he wasn't sure how she would handle being alone right now.

"Alright then, um…" Arthur looked at the other officer completely lost on his name. "J-Jones?" He tried.

"No, Matthew Williams," he sighed. He was a good police officer but there were times where his co-workers would forget he was on the force. The only ones who really knew he was there was Gilbert from Autopsy and Francis from Dispatch. They were pretty good friends but he wished that more people would notice him instead of his show-off stepbrother Alfred.

"Williams, sorry," Arthur apologized. "Escort Miss Braginski to her home and perhaps stay with her until things get sorted out over here, the killer couldn't have gone too far, perhaps he left some finger prints."

Matthew nodded and went over to Katsyusha who had stopped sobbing but tears still threatened to fall out the corner of her grey eyes. She smiled weakly at him. "I want to thank you for being so kind to me," she said trying to hold back her tears.

"You're welcome," Matthew smiled. "I have orders to escort you home and watch over you for a while until things get sorted here."

"Oh, you don't have to do that, I don't want to be a burden," Katsyusha cried.

"It won't be a bother," Matthew took her hand and led her to his car.

"W-what about my produce?" Katsyusha stuttered looking back at her truck.

"The police will compensate for you but they need your truck seeing as, you know," Matthew stopped speaking so he wouldn't upset her more. She nodded and took a deep shuddering breath before getting in the car.

Latvia scurried up and hid in his room the minute he got home. He crawled into bed and buried himself under his warm, rust and gold colored blankets. He wanted to forget what he saw. All he meant was to see Toris. He didn't mean to overhear that the Lithuanian man knew who the killer was. The second he heard that everything went dark for him. And next thing he knew he saw Toris get hit by a car. Yet, deep in his gut he knew that Toris was dead before the car ever hit him.

Latvia hugged his pillow and cried. When would these murders stop?

That night Kiku and Arthur were the only ones left at the CSI department; both men were in Kiku's office going through the evidence.

"There has to be some tie between these murders," Arthur sighed exasperated. "I still think that it was either the Russian man or the Chinese man, they were the only ones who could have left the room."

"Not necessarily," Kiku spoke up and held up a picture of the window. "Upon further investigation I noticed that the locks on the window were broken, also," he continued and held up a picture of the wooden floor by the furniture that had been piled against the door. "These scratches show the furniture has been pushed away from the door even before they were moved this morning and my study shows that they were made that night. Braginski-san said he had not moved the furniture to barricade the door in at least 3 months."

"So, you're saying that somebody was trying to frame one of those two men?" Arthur asked astonished.

Kiku nodded and took a silent sip of his tea. Arthur ran his fingers through his hair. This killer was becoming more and more difficult to figure out by the second. He hoped he and Kiku could figure it out soon, even if it took all night. He paced the office, thoughts rushing around his head a million miles per hour.

"We need to go through all of the interviews again and try to pick up any clues we might have missed save Mr. Laurinatis," he mused to himself. "If one of them is the killer they might have some tell that shows they truly are lying."

Kiku nodded and stood up. "Should we bring them in for a second interview as well?"

Arthur nodded. "Feliks said that Toris might have known who the killer is, perhaps the killer was at the interview which was why he didn't tell us, or maybe he wasn't sure and didn't want us to convict an innocent man."

Kiku nodded with a puzzled look on his usually straight face. He stood up and went to get the interviews. He walked through the dark hallways the only light was the full moon outside. He never realized how creepy this place could be at night, with criminals' faces lining the walls looking like they could easily come out and grab you.

He shook his head and smacked his cheek lightly for thinking such silly thoughts. He and Arthur were the only ones here, right? He quickened his pace down the hallway and walked into the closet were they stored the interviews. An unseen hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder, another slapped over his mouth.


	4. Interview Tape

Chapter 4

Interview Tape

Kiku started struggling and fighting his captor. He froze when the person leaned in and whispered. "Guess who?"

Kiku's eyes narrowed, he rolled his eyes and pushed Heracles off of him. Heracles was a tall muscular security guard at the office, usually he watched over criminals and victims who were in custody but Kiku guessed he was on break. The Japanese man turned and looked up at Heracles' soft brown hair, olive skin and sleepy green eyes. He couldn't help but smile slightly.

"What are you doing here?" He asked turning on the light. The small room was had shelves which held interview tapes and DVDs messily stacked. Nearly tripping over a box of unused tapes he rummaged through the shelves looking for the interviews.

"I wanted to see you," Heracles yawned broadly leaning against the door frame.

Kiku sighed and brushed his raven black bangs out of his eyes. He finally found the tapes and pulled them out stacking them neatly in his arms. He mentally named each person. He picked up Toris Laurinatis and paused. His gut wrenched when he thought about the Polish man crying for his best friend. Toris had seemed like a kind person albeit a nervous one.

Kiku sighed and put a determined expression on his face. He and Arthur had to find this killer quickly and take them down before they could ruin any more lives. The only problem was he had to find a tie between the two victims and exactly why someone would want to kill them. He sighed again and rubbed his temple.

"What a big sigh," Heracles commented jolting Kiku out of his thoughts.

"This case is so difficult," Kiku explained. "This killer is incredibly flashy yet they can leave no trace." He closed the door to the closet and locked it. He headed back to where Arthur was waiting impatiently. Heracles walked beside Kiku.

"Well, you're really smart so I'm sure you can figure it out," mumbled Heracles sleepily.

"I hope so," Kiku replied and stepped back into the office. "I got the tapes."

Arthur nodded. He really wanted to find something that can give them a clue as to who the killer is.

They watched the videos over and over searching for something that could help them in stopping this killer. After a while Arthur spoke up. "I'm suspecting Mr. Braginski is the killer."

"What makes you so certain?" Kiku asked mildly perplexed.

"Well, his records show he has a history of psychological problems and he can be incredibly violent at times, he's been arrested for assault once or twice but was released shortly after, also, notice how those three become nervous when Mr. Braginski is near them. He must have abused them at one time or another, and he certainly has the motive to kill Natalia. She was an absolute nutburger, he said she would chase him with a knife and it was her goal to get him to marry her."

Kiku nodded and made a note. "We'll call him in for a second interrogation."

"We should just arrest him now before he kills someone else!" Arthur shouted slamming his fists on the desk, causing Kiku to jump nearly knocking his tea over.

"Please calm down," Kiku put his hand on Arthur's arm. "While I admit quite a bit of the evidence does point to Braginski-san we don't have enough yet, perhaps something will slip in his next questioning, for now let's go home and get some rest, I think both of us are too tired to think properly."

"You're probably right," Arthur said hesitantly before standing up and putting evidence in his briefcase, he picked up his silver gun and stuck it in the black holster at his side, he pulled the brown coat off the back of his chair and slipped it on. He figured he would get home and look over the evidence some more before going to bed.

Deep in thought he muttered a quick goodbye to his Japanese friend and headed out. A thin fog had lay over the street making the road look like a silver river; the lamps seemed suspended in the air like fairies lights. Arthur felt like he was being transported into a magical world and any minute a group of creatures would show up beckoning him to join them.

He stopped by a small restaurant and picked up some Indian curry to munch on when he reached home, the fog drenched his hair and soaked him to the bone. Arthur shivered feeling the cold cut through him like a knife yet it felt like a soft kiss on his cheek as he walked.

He thought about how, once he got to his apartment he could have a hot shower then get warm in some sweatpants and long sleeved shirt. The bag of curry warmed his hand, he could already taste the spiciness complemented by a warm cup of Earl Grey tea. As he ate he could watch some reruns of Monty Python's Flying Circus to unwind. Then as he lay in bed he'd pore over the evidence, if he went to sleep thinking about it then perhaps he would dream of who the murderer is and how they can stop him.

In his day dream Arthur did not notice the dark figure heading towards him.

Ivan stumbled down the street obviously drunk, his tan coat, buttoned wrong, was rumpled and hanging off his shoulder. He might have been cold but the hot Russian blood that ran through his veins and the fact of drinking loads of alcohol kept him warm. Vodka was strong on his breath, due to his drunken stupor he had not noticed that one of his over-sized boots was missing. He had been drinking more than usual since the death of his sister and comrade. It had been perhaps a week give or take a couple days but Ivan didn't care. He wanted to get the images out of his head. He had several nightmares that he truly wanted to forget at all costs.

Suddenly, he bumped into somebody. Irritation washed over him and he glared down at the British inspector. He began chanting, "kolkolkolkol." Meanwhile Arthur was trying to understand what the bloody hell was going on.

Ivan's chant was interrupted by a high hiccup and he broke into a fit of giggles, he looked at the messy haired man with the thick eyebrow. "Hello," he slurred.

"By God, you're drunk," Arthur exclaimed as Ivan leaned on him, his hot breath nauseating. Arthur shoved the silver haired man with the glossy violet eyes off of him.

Ivan mumbled something incomprehensible in Russian and closed one eye looking at Arthur. "You're that Inspector *hic* caught the killer yet?" he broke off into another fit of giggles. His head swam and he felt as though the fog in the air was entering his brain, God, how he loved this floating feeling, like he had absolutely no control and yet he had the power to do anything.

Arthur sighed and ran his fingers through his messy, blonde hair, if this walking tank was drunk and a potential killer then it would not be good if he were walking the streets. "Go on with you, get home," Arthur ordered.

Ivan glared at him with a don't-tell-me-what-to-do look. Arthur stepped back and put his hand on his gun. Ivan shuffled towards the British man backing him into a brick wall, his silhouette became dark and menacing, Ivan put a hand on Arthur's shoulder the weight felt like a brick just landed on his shoulder, Ivan leaned in yet Arthur could see those child-like eyes filled with anger and something else he couldn't put his finger on. He tightened his grip on his gun.

Emerald eyes locked with Amethyst eyes for a brief moment. Ivan blinked slowly and whispered in Arthur's ear, "Yes, ociffer," before turning and stumbling away disappearing in the steadily thickening fog.

The British man steadied his breathing. He headed the way the Russian went. He had to at least call him a cab so he could get home safely. Ivan might be a potential killer and Arthur knew, as his duty as a police investigator, that he had to insure the safety of the public.

He heard a loud crack of a gunshot ring out through the quiet street and the bullet hit a grate near the British man causing bright sparks to fly, illuminating the fog.

Panic shot through Arthur as he ran into the alley way and hid himself behind a dumpster, looking around wildly to see if he could find the one who fired the gun. Shit. Perhaps it was the killer! What if Ivan had a gun concealed on him and decided to try to take Arthur out since he, along with Kiku, were head of this Investigation?

Arthur pulled out his gun and his phone calling the police for back up. There was no way in hell he was going to die today! He was grateful the fog was so thick concealing him and messing with the killers aim. He could only pray back-up would arrive quickly.

**Hi Guys! So, I had a busy break. I meant to get out more chapters but I got occupied with Christmas and New Year's. So anyway I got an awesome Hetalia poster and some great gifts! Anyway, bet I scared you with the Kiku thing huh? I couldn't kill Kiku! At least not right now. But yeah it's much too early for that. Hope you enjoyed this chater as well! I love you guys! I'm glad you like my story! Chapter 5 may take a while because I'm going into competition season with winter guard! Bye! Subscribe, comment, favorite if you liked it! If you don't, run. Run away and never return.**

**-MintyDaze**


	5. Shower Head

The Quiet One

Chapter 5: Shower head

Ivan woke up the next morning his head pounding from hangover. He dragged himself to the bathroom and barely made it before emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He squeezed his eyes shut leaning against the bathtub close to the toilet. He pressed his cheek to the cool porcelain and wished the room would stop spinning.

Ever since the murders started, he sent his comrades to their own homes leaving him all alone in his large house. He felt it would be better if they were split up however, he wished Yao were here to help him and take care of him. He knew at least his sister would be safe with that police officer staying with her, unless the bastard couldn't keep his hands to himself then, there would be a problem.

Ivan ran his fingers through his silver hair and stood up. His head spun and he stumbled back slamming into the door, a loud crack making him alert. He turned and saw the wood split in the middle of the door. He sighed and made his way to the shower.

He turned on the water and shrugged off his wrinkled and strong smelling clothes from last night. He deposited them in the laundry basket before stepping into the shower. The cold water came as a shock to him and his violet eyes stretched wide. He rubbed his face and pressed his forehead to the tile while the water beat down on his neck and shoulders.

He tried to remember what happened last night but everything from the minute he walked into the bar was gone, he even forgot who was there with him.

He opened his eyes. He remembered seeing the investigator last night, the one with messy blonde hair, green eyes, and thick, goofy eyebrows. But that was it. He must not have done anything seeing as he got home safely and didn't wake up in jail. Again.

Ivan felt his stomach clench. If he didn't do anything, why does he feel like something was wrong?

-two weeks later-

Arthur sat in his black leather office chair. He stared around The room lost in thought. Two bookshelves facing each other from opposite walls were laden with books on forensics, crime scenes, biographies of famous killers and investigators alike and more. A picture of him and his brothers, a few statuettes in the shape of a unicorn, a bunny with wings, a pirate, and a gnome, paperwork scattered about waiting to either be filed or done and a cup full of pencils and pens occupied the wooden desk.

It had been over two weeks since the murders started and they haven't gotten anywhere with evidence. The killer left absolutely no trace of who they were. Not a strand of hair, not a finger print, not a single cell. Arthur had his suspicions about Ivan but the Russian couldn't be arrested because there wasn't enough evidence to persecute him with.

The blonde haired man was so deep in thought he hadn't noticed the Japanese man with black hair and expressionless brown eyes enter his office. Kiku readjusted the stack of paperwork in his hands trying not to spill the coffee that teetered back and forth. He cleared his throat politely jolting Arthur out of his thoughts.

"Oh let me help you," Arthur said standing up, he set the coffee on his desk along with the paperwork. "Have you found anything new?"

Kiku sighed, "Nothing."

"Damn," Arthur muttered collapsing back into his chair.

"On the bright side," Kiku said sitting in a chair placed in front of the desk so he could face the British man. "I got permission from the Chief to conduct second interviews and find out more information."

Arthur sighed in relief. This is good. Perhaps they'll be able to figure it out then, "Any new reports?"

Kiku bowed his head hiding his eye roll as he reached for the report. He knew Arthur had seniority over him but he still wished he wasn't treated like an intern or secretary.

The Japanese man straightened up and went through the report that kept everyone at the station in the loop on Investigations, arrests, crimes, etc. Elizabeta from forensics came up with the idea after there had been a mix up on what investigations were out there.

Kiku cleared his throat and read the report to Arthur. The green-eyed man listened intently hoping to hear something useful.

"And finally," Kiku continued. "Officer Williams hasn't checked into the office in two weeks."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Alfred's step-brother," Kiku explianed.

"Oh," Arthur pressed his fist to his lips thinking for a minute before removing them to say, "What was his last assignment?"

"I believe he was sent to escort Miss Katsyusha Braginski home and stay with her for a day or two to make sure she could cope with what happened," Kiku said. "And to watch for signs of PTSD."

"Did they check his house? What about Miss Braginski's home?" Arthur asked.

"Alfred said there was no answer at Matthew's house and Miss Braginski said he left when she calmed down," Kiku answered. "Alfred is out looking for him so you should probably just stay here and get some work done." Kiku hoped his subtle 'get back to work' comment would sink in. He stood up, gathered his paperwork and went to his office.

Arthur looked down and tried to focus on his paper work, but there was something strange about Matthew's disappearance.

Katsyusha poked around her home for the fifth time that day. Something smelled weird and she knew it wasn't fertilizer. She looked around her small, cozy home, she searched every corner, opened all the cabinets but found nothing.

The smell was faint but it bothered her, it grew stronger as the days went by. She thought about calling Matthew and having him come check it out but she didn't want to bother him. Katsyusha pushed back her yellow headband. She would eventually figure this out. She wasn't as useless as everyone liked to believe she was.

Katsyusha heard a knock on the door and ran to answer it, she found a box waiting for her on her porch, curious she picked it up, she tried opening it but her nails worn from farming would do no good.

The silver haired woman plopped down on her flower print couch her breasts making a slight boing sound. She sat there staring into her empty fireplace when suddenly she realized what she smelled. She smelled it before when she was 9 and a mouse died in her room caught under her dresser. It was decaying flesh.

Katsyusha stood up, first she went upstairs and set the box down on the bathroom counter, she pulled out some scissors and opened the box, she was about to push back the newspaper and packing peanuts hiding whatever was in it when suddenly the smell got worse.

Wrinkling her nose, she abandoned the box and ran out the door to her shed, her breasts bobbing up and down making the boinging sounds they always did. She rolled up the sleeves to her white blouse and got out gloves, a shovel, and a garbage bag. She decided a raccoon probably got stuck in the attic and died from starvation.

Katsyusha pulled down the ladder and climbed into the dark, dusty attic, boxes were shoved in every corner. The silver haired woman covered her nose with her arm and tried not to gag. The smell was definitely coming from here. She had to get rid of this as quickly as possible, walking around she found it strange that she couldn't find the source.

The sickening sound of flesh being torn made her jump, suddenly the ragged, maggot filled carcass of a possum fell on her head with a soft _plop_. Katsyusha screamed and pulled the contents off of her and into the bag, she hurried down as fast as she could and dumped the bag outside her home before running back in.

She kicked open the bathroom door and started the water, she pulled off her blouse before jumping in, not caring that she was still in her suspenders and boots. She scrubbed her hair and neck, tears streaming down her face. Taking out the carcass was one thing having it fall on your head is another.

The pipes started rattling making a loud gurgling noise. The water began coming out in sharp spurts. Appalled that her shower would suddenly stop working, Katsyusha turned to shut the water off when something bright red and sticky spat out of the shower head, landing on her face.

Katsyusha realized at once it was blood, she opened her mouth unable to scream, she backed up and her eyes widened in horror as blood and flew out of the pipes. The Ukrainian woman leapt out getting tangled up in her shower curtain. The water stopped and the pipes rattled, the shower head rusty and loose from years of use broke off and pink and red chunks poured out into the tub like red chowder mixed with a pink protein drink.

Katsyusha grabbed her cell phone off the counter disturbing the brown box and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" a man's voice answered with a soft French accent.

"I-In m-m-my shower… b-b-bloo– EVERYWHERE!" Katsyusha stuttered and screamed her voice breaking as she tried to tell the emergency operator what was happening.

"S'il vous plait mademoiselle, calm down," the operator spoke calmly. "Tell me, are you hurt?"

The silver haired woman fell to her knees as she took deep breaths, the air was hot with the stench of blood and rotting body parts. "No… b-but my shower… it's…."

Katsyusha felt sick to her stomach, she felt vomit rise up in her throat when suddenly, the box tipped over and Matthew's severed head fell into her lap. Matthew's hair was caked and matted with blood, his skin wrinkled with dehydration. The first signs of decay already showing with skin that had been chewed off by the white maggots wriggling around, one dropped out of his ear and another poked out from his cheek waving around in the light as if surprised. Unable to take anymore the Ukrainian woman's blue-gray eyes rolled back, a soft groan escaped her lips and she passed out.

Meanwhile the Frenchman was calling out to her, he urgently typed on his computer to find the location of the distressed woman. He was still unclear as to what was going on and worked faster than he ever had in hopes that the woman's life was not in danger.

**Yep so, Matthew is dead. Sorry. It took a while for this chapter because I had to figure out how a body could come through a shower and if it was even plausible. Made an interesting conversation at the lunch table :p Anyway, chapters may be less frequent because I am going into competition season for winterguard. Had my first competition today and we won third! Yay! I'm also working on drawing a cover for this story and I'm working on getting my driver's license and I'm just busy as hell. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll get Chapter 6 out ASAP.**


	6. Septic Tank

The Quiet One

Chapter 6: Septic Tank (part 1)

Alfred paled and his eyes widen when Arthur told him the news that the head belonged to his step-brother Matthew. Three officers had to hold the loud American back so that he didn't go charging in and ruining evidence.

"Let me in, God dammit!" Alfred screamed as he fought against the officers.

Arthur grabbed the light brown haired man by the shoulders. "Alfred!" He shouted in a firm voice. "Please, I know you're hurt but be rational!"

"I need to be in there," tears began streaming down Alfred's face. He dropped his head into Alfred's shoulder.

Elizaveta walked out looking like she was about to vomit. "I don't think it's such a good idea for Alfred to see this," she pointed out. "It's… I just…." Her voice broke and she looked down at her camera. She had never seen anything so horrendous. She knew that if Alfred saw a single picture it would break him.

Alfred collapsed to his knees and cried for Matthew. Even though Alfred teased Matthew and wasn't the best brother to him he cared about him a lot and felt at that moment that he just lost something big, something that was very nearly a part of himself. He did. He lost his brother, the one he grew up with and played baseball and hockey with.

Meanwhile inside, Lukas and Lien were bagging evidence. Lien felt nauseated as she scooped Matthew's body parts into a container. The pink and red chunks squelched every time she dipped the scoop into the bathtub.

"This is sickening," Lukas commented his usual blank face was twisted with disgust.

Kiku stepped out of the house his arms clutched over his stomach. He hadn't felt this sick since he let Feliciano give him a ride home. He walked around the old, house with the peeling white paint wondering if anything was left out here.

He stopped as he noticed a large, rusted lid like a manhole cover a few feet away. He searched for the right word and remembered it was a septic tank. It was basically the plumbing system for the farm house. A small slip of paper caught his eye. He knelt down covering his nose with his arm to block out as much of the horrible smell as he could. He picked up the paper and moved away.

He saw a few words scrawled on the slip.

_Good luck finding me._

Kiku was about to go tell Arthur what he found when suddenly a piercing shriek shook the air and froze him in place.

Katsyusha, who was moved outside of the house and currently waiting for an ambulance had woken up, her eyes were wide as a cornered animal, she writhed on the ground as she kept screaming. It was shrill and full of pain and fear.

-Ivan's POV-

Ivan had received a call that his still living sister had witnessed a traumatic scene, so he sped over as fast as he could to their old home that was now hers. His hands clutched the steering wheel when he saw the police cars and the forensics truck. He stopped the car not bothering to park. The minute he opened his door he heard his sister's terrified shriek.

Not thinking he ran straight to her and knelt down. His heart clenched when he saw the panic on her usual sweet face and kind blue eyes usually filled with tears of apology was now struck with fear. He ignored her swinging arms and hugged her. His giant hands gently rubbed her back and stroked her hair as he spoke calming words to her in Russian.

Katsyusha had stopped screaming and lay sobbing in her little brother's arms. Ivan was reminded of when he was a little boy and his sister hugged him and stroked his hair telling him everything would be alright. It was so long ago, it was long before he became what he was now.

The Russian hardly noticed that his scarf and coat were soaked with tears. He didn't really care. He looked up and saw the Hungarian forensic scientist standing there. She said something but he couldn't really hear her. All he could think of was terrified screams echoing through his head along with the wails of sirens and people shouting at it other. It was almost too much to bear. He needed to get out of here. He needed to escape.

He looked down and saw his sister had passed out again. His eyes turned dark and were no longer filled with childlike cruelty.

"The ambulance is here," He finally heard Elizabeta say jolting him out of his stupor.

Reluctantly Ivan let the paramedics take his sister into the red vehicle. He watched it drive away sirens wailing like a cry for help. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. Running his hands through his silver hair, he turned to Elizabeta who still stood there gripping her camera like she wanted to smash it into a million pieces.

"What happened?" Was all he could get out.

"One of the department's officers has been murdered and Miss Braginski had found his remains," she said her voice laced with anger.

"I see," said Ivan and turned to his car and made one last comment before leaving. "Good luck finding him."

**I know, I know. Short chapter! I might edit it later but I have been **_**crazy **_**busy lately. I've been dealing with winterguard and homework but I've also been dealing with bullies lately and I can't write when my head is full of anger and hate. I also had to write a play for theatre, I may or may not post the script. We'll have to see, won't we? Anyway I decided to put this chapter in two parts so that way you still get something and I can focus on the next part and not have them run together. Now for spamming. Follow me on tumblr at: **mintydaze **I'll also be starting a Russia Cosplay blog so if you're interested I'll tell you when I do my first video. Done with spamming. I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP but it might be a while, just bear with me. At least I try and keep it one or two updates a month instead of one or two a year right? I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one. -MintyDaze**


	7. White Board

**Hello fans~ sorry I took a while I've been CRAZY busy! But~ I just got 1****st**** place in Championships and am therefore done with Guard. I have EOC testing but after that I should be able to finish this! There aren't very many chapters left and I'm sure you're all dying to know who the murderer is. Soon my followers… soon. I do not own Hetalia.**

**Chapter 6 (part 2): White Board**

"Dammit!" Arthur cried slamming his papers down on the desk. "It's got to be him! It has to!"

"I'll admit the way things are looking right now the evidence is starting to point to him but we don't have any solid evidence," Kiku reasoned. "So we can't convict him."

The Brit slumped down in his chair. "Have we checked through everything? All the interviews, the crime scenes, background checks," he pressed.

The Japanese man nodded. "The killer has left no finger prints, no DNA samples or any implication of him being male or female, the writing on the note was so carefully written that it wouldn't match anyone's."

Arthur groaned and ran his fingers through his already messy blonde hair. He was not ready to give up but he really wanted somebody to put away in jail. These gruesome murders were enough to make even Gilbert and Feliciano in forensics want to vomit and push it away in disgust. But… he started musing, that may be the point. Make it so sickening that only a real sociopath would be able to handle it.

"So far we have death by: Bleeding out, a brutal beating, and," Arthur swallowed hard. "grinding into goop. Three Deaths." He got up and went to the white board covered with pictures and notes, he uncapped a green marker and began writing. "The first was the sister of Ivan and Katsyusha Braginski," he noted and narrowed his eyes. "Toris Laurinatis had a crush on her and they went on a few dates."

Kiku caught on and joined in with a black marker. "She also terrorized Raivis Galante and even hospitalized him twice. When we interrogated him he had traces of alcohol and he has background of Nervous Disorders caused by stress, he was abused as a child and put in the same foster care with the Braginski's after their parents died and they didn't help make him any better," he made his notes. "Braginski-san and Galante-kun have motivation in this death."

Arthur moved on, "Braginski has injured Laurinatis before but no charges were pressed and Braginski was released due to the fact he was intoxicated. But if Braginski was the killer and he knew that Laurinatis saw him."

"Then he and Galante both have reason to kill him as well. Laurinatis also tended to ignore Galante and this can cause motivation especially someone of his background," Kiku added in.

"With Mr. Williams," Arthur tapped his chin with the end of the marker. "He was in charge of taking care of Miss Braginski after she was traumatized, since then he's been seeing her. Ivan Braginski must not have liked seeing someone with his remaining sister and lashed out."

"Galante had no ties," Kiku confirmed.

"What about that other fellow," Arthur searched the board. "Yao Wong?"

"Wang," the Japanese man corrected and pointed to the two pictures in the corner. "He was dismissed as an innocent bystander along with Eduard von Bock. Both had little to no criminal record and they had alibies for the times that the murders took place."

"Again the evidence points to Ivan Braginski," Arthur said the exasperation showing through his voice. "But what's bothering me is that now some of it is pointing to Raivis Galante. None of this evidence is solid enough to convict either." He capped his pen and smacked it down on the tray. "This killer is a true genius. A bloody snake! When we think we're about to find something he finds a way to slither out of it!"

Kiku shook his head and capped his pen at a loss for words. For some reason this all felt like one big wild goose chase and the real killer was just sitting back laughing at them. The Japanese man sat down and read through the evidence over and over wishing for something that could point them in the right direction.

-two weeks later-

Yao Wang was in his apartment above the Chinese restaurant he worked at, he sighed as he stirred the cabbage in his wok adding soy sauce, carrots, onions, and other ingredients. He checked on the assorted pork and shrimp dumplings in the steamer and hummed as he cooked. He checked the Hello Kitty clock hanging by the refrigerator and adjusted his Happy Panda chef's jacket over his red shirt with the gold trimming and black skin tight pants.

"Ivan should be here any moment, aru," Yao mused and smiled thinking about his Russian boyfriend. Everyone thought Ivan was an intimidating and scary person but Yao knew Ivan was really just a big, cuddly panda bear with a few psychological issues. The Russian just didn't know how to really talk to people or make friends and he got violent when he was scared.

Yao hissed when some oil popped out and burned him, he cursed himself for getting distracted and focused back on his cooking; he heard the front door open and close.

"Ni hao Ivan," Yao called out his heart soaring, he heard heavy boots clomp in and stand behind him. "I know you're hungry but you'll have to wait." He waited for an answer the only sound was the sizzling and popping of the food in his wok and the scrape of his chopsticks moving along the bottom as he stirred.

"Ivan," Yao furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you so quiet? Say something, aru!" He started to turn when he felt something slip into his side. He froze and looked down as one of his razor sharp kitchen knives protruded out of his side seeing the gloved hand gripping the shiny black handle. Yao's eyesight began to blur, he heard the person chuckle.

The voice sounded far away to Yao, "You'll be so much more fun to kill," the man stroked Yao's ponytail.

Yao coughed some blood and shuddered barely registering the pain shooting through his side matching his heartbeat. Screaming he picked up his wok and flung it around hitting the killer in the shoulder, the man shoved Yao away and cried out. Yao fell to the floor and tried crawling away the hot food dripped off his arm, burning his hand.

The man grabbed his shoulder and took off tripping over a pile of stuffed animals in the living room his boot sliding off his foot. He stumbled as he got up and started running again when the wok sailed into the room, leaving the boot behind.

Yao's breathing grew more and more shallow as he fumbled with the white phone and dialed 911. He pulled off the towel hanging on the handle of the oven and pressed to his side feeling the blood forced out with every beat of his heart and spilling onto the white tiled floor.

"911 what is your emergency?" the French operator asked.

"Got… stabbed," Yao slurred. "…Happy Panda…" he coughed and blood dribbled out the side of his mouth.

The operator was confused and wondering if the person was actually high. He typed down Happy Panda and found it was a restaurant in Chinatown. He quickly alerted an ambulance and the police "Alright, help is on its way ma'am."

"I'm a guy, aru…" Yao grumbled before his vision gave way to dizzying darkness.


	8. The Boot

**It's MintyDaze~ Hi! Wow this chapter came out faster than usual thanks to my free time in ColorGuard. I hope you're enjoying this story and are following along like the amazing detectives you all are. I'll let you know the chapter before I reveal the killer so that you can convict who you think it is below! Those who get it right will get a special prize! A one-shot with the characters of your choice! You can name the killer anytime between now and that chapter but once I release the final chapter the competition is closed.**

Chapter 7: Boot

Yao felt like he was in a sea of darkness, bouncing along not knowing what was water and what was sky, it must have been a void, an empty void that he would spend eternity tumbling around not knowing where he is or what's going on. Thoughts swirled around but never formed except for one. Who was in his apartment?He knew the only other person who had a key was Ivan. Yao refused to believe that Ivan would do anything this horrible to him. Ivan wouldn't do this. The Russian loved him a lot and would never hurt him. Right?

Suddenly a different feeling came over Yao, he felt like a heavy weight had just been dropped onto his chest and was pressing down, long thin tentacles rested on his body and a small irritating sound started up. _Beep. Beep. Beep. _Yao tried to open his eyes but it felt like they had been glued shut. He laid like that, a corpse in a sea of darkness, listening trying to pinpoint where he was. The voices weren't familiar and they kept saying strange things like "He just stabilized." And "I can't get the man to leave and more want to come in."

Yao felt like all he had was his hearing and his sense of smell, he wasn't sure if anything that touched him was real or a dream. More voices came at least 4 male and 1 female. They chattered on sounding sad and scared, the girl suddenly started crying. Something tugged on Yao's arm but let go just as quick. He tried to make out what they were saying but all it did was make him feel sick. He listened as the voices eventually quieted down.

All through this the weight on his chest rarely lifted and when it did it came back almost immediately. He wasn't scared of it though, it was warm, gentle, and assuring. Whenever he felt like he was going to slip back into the dark sea he focused on the weight. It was his anchor. He wasn't sure how much time had passed. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Yao was leaning more towards hours.

Hours of listening to voices saying things he couldn't understand. Hours of both fragrant and nauseating smells. Hours of slipping in and out of almost consciousness. Hours of pain coursing through him followed by happy weightlessness. Hours of that nasty little sound: _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Yao tried opening his eyes again and saw a blurry white ceiling past his dark lashes. He groaned and tried opening them again. He blinked away to loosen the "glue" threatening to make his eyes close again. As he grew more aware he noticed that the "tentacles" were really wires and IV's and the incessant beeping was a heart monitor. His eye twitched slightly with each beep as he looked at the machine.

His brown hair was no longer in its ponytail and instead of silkiness it felt and looked like it hadn't been washed for days. His skin felt dry and cracked, thirsty even, instead of the usual smooth, creamy porcelain like a doll. His mouth was dry like it was stuffed with cotton balls and he had a metallic taste in the back of his throat. Despite just waking up he was already exhausted, his legs felt hot under the over-bleached sheets and scratchy wool blanket and his arms felt cold and stiff from the IV. To sum it all up, he felt like absolute shit. His only comfort was the weight on his chest and the white scarf tenderly and carefully draped around his neck smelling of sunflowers and vodka. Yao nuzzled his cheek to the fabric that was softer than cotton but heavier than wool, it was knitted with a mother's care so that from a short distance it appeared smoother than silk and had the comfort and security of a blanket.

Yao's eyes drifted around the pristine hospital room. He mentally cringed at the plainness and wish he could add a splash of red paint along with a room separator made of ebony wood and decorated with gleaming abalone shells and opal carved to look like an ancient Chinese village, plus a jade dragon in the corner for luck and beauty. He slowly turned his head and piled onto the bedside table were gifts and cards. His eyes widened longingly for the big cuddly white kitty with a big red and white polka-dot bow perched on the ear, a yellow button-like nose and a cute little smile on her face. In the kitty's arms was a bouquet of sunflowers tied with a blue ribbon. He wanted more than anything to reach out and pull her into his arms snuggling up with her like a small child hoping she could make the searing pain would go away. He already decided to name the kitty plushie Shinatty-chan. A cute name for a cute kitty.

Yao heard someone sigh softly and looked down to see Ivan's sleeping head resting on his chest one arm slung protectively over him. The Chinese man smiled slightly his heart fluttering and touched the Russian's soft hair, his finger's tingling as he caressed the silver strands. Ivan's amethyst colored orbs fluttered open, his gaze slowly moved up to Yao's face eyes widening slowly a rare smile that showed no signs of child cruelty forming on his face.

Before Yao could react Ivan's lips were crushed against his, large hands cradling his delicate face. Yao closed his brown eyes slowly and leaned into the kiss feeling like everything was going to be absolutely fine as long as his sweet panda was here to protect him and be alongside him while he healed.

Ivan pulled away and before he could say anything the doors burst open and several armed police officers rushed in and trained their guns on the large Russian. The detectives Arthur Kirkland and Kiku Honda strolled in holding their badges in one hand and guns in the other. Kiku put his badge in his pocket and his gun in his holster and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"Ivan Vladimir Braginski," Arthur began as Kiku handcuffed the confused Russian and pulled him away from the Chinese lover. "You are under arrest for the murders of Natalia Braginski, Toris Laurinatis, Matthew Williams and the attempted murderer of Yao Wang."

"What?" Yao cried his voice rough and quiet from days of silence. "Ivan wouldn't do that."

"We found evidence of him stabbing you," Arthur explained and gave a smug look to Ivan. "You thought you were so clever not leaving behind any clues, but you made such a big blunder by leaving your boot behind. The DNA in it we found was yours plus you have a boot missing in your closet, don't you?"

"While I am missing a boot," Ivan argued softly, he looked at Yao eyes showing pain. "I did not kill anyone."

"Tell it to the judge commie," Alfred said gripping his gun. "You're lucky I can't kill you here and now to avenge my little brother!"

Ivan kept his mouth shut, instead of looking like a cruel child his face looked weary, tired and sad his silver hair only adding years to his face. He sighed and looked longingly at Yao as he was led away by two large and burly police officers.

Yao tried to sit up. "Ivan didn't do this!" he cried his voice cracking. Pain shot through his side and he fell back into the bed watching helplessly as his love was carried off to go to jail.

Raivis and Eduard's eyes widened as they were given the news about their comrade being taken to jail.

"M-Mister Braginski w-was the killer?" Raivis stammered out looking at the German officer.

Ludwig nodded. "We found the evidence needed to arrest him, I believe you both can rest easily now that he's behind bars. You will get a letter notifying you when he goes to court, you will go onto the stand to testify against him."

"Of course," Eduard nodded and put a hand on the Latvian boys shoulder. "Thank you for coming officer we appreciate this."

Ludwig nodded and left the large mansion.

Raivis moved away from Eduard and ran upstairs feeling uneasy.

-Three months later-

Arthur sat in his office filing the evidence and paperwork readying them for trial when something caught his eye, he picked up the first picture taken where Ivan's boots sat, 3 pairs all lined neatly in a row. In this picture Natalia's arm lay near the boots. Arthur swallowed hard and looked at the picture taken the morning of his arrest, all two and a half pairs of boots lined up. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. Something wasn't right. He looked back and forth between the boots. The boots looked the same except one was missing.

He remembered many months ago when he ran into the Russian on the street, Ivan was drunk barely conscious and he was missing a boot. Arthur's emerald eyes widened with realization. There's no possible way the Russian could have done this.

Ivan Braginski had been framed.


	9. Phone Call

**Hello my lovely readers~ So, the story will be ending either next chapter or the chapter after. This will be a rather short chapter but I hope you enjoy it all the same. I may or may not go back and edit the other chapters. I most likely will. I hope y'all are enjoying this fanfic. I will be revealing who the killer is next Chapter. I do not own Hetalia.**

**Chapter 8: Phone call**

Arthur ran up to the Chief of Police, Vash Zwingli a tough, no nonsense, Swiss with short blonde hair, stern green eyes and a disapproving frown plastered on his face. The only time anyone had ever seen him relax and show any other emotion other than disappointment was when his little sister Lili visited. Everyone loved her because she was like a sweet puppy always following her big brother; they also loved it when she brought them cookies.

"Chief Zwingli," Arthur yelled out to get his bosses attention. The Swiss turned and looked at the Brit obviously annoyed.

"What do you want Kirkland?" the Swiss asked in an irritated manner that usually meant "speak quickly or eat bullets".

"It's about the Braginski case," Arthur rushed out. "I believe we have reason of doubt for his conviction and that further case study is needed. In other words, Ivan Braginski was framed."

Vash faced him head on and leaned close so that emerald met emerald. Vash's words were cold and enunciated, "Listen, you were the one pressing for Braginski's arrest. You are _not _going to tell me now that you changed your mind. You _are_ going to present your evidence to the court with Mr. Honda. I will not accept any last minute changes. If you want to continue this investigation, fine by me, but you will not get any help from the station do you understand?"

"But—," Arthur tried to get out.

"Say one more word and you're fired," the Swiss spat out before turning and marching away.

Arthur stood there infuriated. If only he hadn't been so arrogant earlier. If only he decided to keep his gob shut until he received more evidence. But no, he had to go and blab about what he thought even when there wasn't enough evidence to convict the Russian.

_Damn _he thought as he stalked to his office, he sat in the leather chair and contemplated his next move. He decided if he was going to get anywhere he would have to start from the beginning. He pulled out a stack of post-it notes and began writing notes and sticking them to the papers in the file of things that he would have to investigate. When he finished he sat back in his chair wondering how to get out of work for the next few hours, at that moment Kiku walked into Arthur's office. He smiled, thankful that some solutions deliver themselves.

"Kiku," Arthur said standing up, "Cover my desk for me, I have reason to believe that Braginski was framed for the murder and I'm going out to prove it," he said as he gathered his notebook and put his gun into its holster at his side. He put on his coat and gathered his files. He waved and left, "Thank you, you're a lifesaver."

The poor Japanese man stood there and sighed. He was already covering for another person but he supposed that he could take over another. Three wouldn't be too difficult to manage, right? His normally perfect posture slumped as he went back to his office and hacked into the other two computers so that they appeared on both of his screens and connected their phone-lines to his so he could answer their calls. He sighed and decided next time he would just say no, knowing full well that he wouldn't and just cover for them.

Ivan sat alone in his cell. He didn't mind the stained, blue pinstriped mattress with aged yellow stuffing poking out from small rips caused by hiding makeshift weapons or the itchy wool blanket that felt more like it was made from 80% Steel Wool. He didn't mind the disgusting moldy toilet that had never been cleaned once or the rusty bars that imprisoned him from the outside world. He didn't mind the mildew stains that splotched the ceiling and walls or that everything was a gray so dull that it sucked the color out of everything around it. He didn't mind the dull gray jumpsuit he was forced to wear. He didn't mind the prisoners, most smelling of alcohol, cigarettes and urine, who would jeer and tried to pick fights with him. He didn't mind them at all.

The minute everyone was let out into the large concrete courtyard surrounded a large fence lined with barbed-wire; Ivan immediately made himself the most intimidating person out there by chugging down a bottle of vodka and immediately working out showing off his muscles proving he was not someone you'd want to trifle with.

The things that scared the other prisoners most was Ivan's childishly cruel smile and the ugly scars that marred his thick, muscular neck. When asked about the crimes he was prosecuted for, Ivan neither confirmed nor denied the murders. What Ivan did mind was that his precious flower could not see him at all. He also minded that the bastard who killed his younger sister and comrade, made his older sister go insane and attempted to kill the only person who understood him, was still on the loose.

Ivan woke up that morning and tied his silver hair back into a stubby ponytail, the long three months he's been in that prison his hair had started getting longer and wilder. He smiled slightly when he thought of Yao and his soft, silky ponytail, the smile immediately slid off the Russians face when a security guard opened his cell door.

"Braginski, you got a visitor," the guard told him. Even though he was immensely surprised Ivan just kept a straight face, the guards would use any emotion against the prisoners. Ivan walked down to the visitor's area and sat at the phone he was pointed to. Ivan secretly hoped that it would be Yao sitting there but when he reached it, it was one of the last people he expected to see.

He sat down and picked up the phone. "Inspector Kirkland," he greeted. "What a pleasant surprise. Have you come to gloat?"

"Oh, can it wanker," Arthur muttered irritated at the Russian's persistently calm attitude. "I'm actually here to help you prove your innocence, got it?"

"So, the great inspector was wrong," Ivan said a mocking tone hidden under his thick even one. "So you decided that I'm not the sociopath I appear to be?" Ivan asked scratching the scars on his neck.

"Did you commit the murders?" Arthur asked not wanting to get into it with this man. Ivan grew silent and they stared at each other for a moment before Ivan opened his thin lips.

"Nyet," he said showing complete and utter sincerity on his face and it leaked through his voice. "I would never kill my sister, she may love me too much but I wasn't her only goal in life, she was actually planning on moving on and letting me be with Yao. She says she wants to marry me because she doesn't want me to be alone. And she herself was afraid of being alone."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows and jotted down notes. How come he didn't know about this before? "So you didn't kill your sister?"

"Nyet," Ivan shook his head. "I love my little sister and would never harm her."

Arthur glanced at Ivan's criminal record and saw no domestic violence, the only violence charges happened when he was intoxicated at a bar. The Brit's hand trembled as he realized how much he missed before and he was pissed on how much everyone else had missed as well. "What about Toris Laurinatis?"

"He was my comrade," the Russian told him. "I may have hurt him before but charges were dropped and he forgave me, if you'll look on my record that was about 8 years ago when I was at my peak of my… rebellious phase."

"Is that what you call it?"

"Well, I didn't follow the rules, I ran from foster homes, I drank, smoked, stole, fought" Ivan explained. "I was looking for anything to dull the pain. One day I got drunk and I hurt my comrade, since then I never drank heavily at home."

"I see," Arthur added "complicated past" to his notes.

"Toris was my comrade," Ivan said again. "Ask Eduard or Raivis."

"What about the police officer Matthew Williams?" Arthur asked.

"I knew him at school," Ivan admitted. "I used to sit on him in History class."

"Why?" Arthur asked raising one eyebrow.

"I was a bully and he was an easy target," Ivan started laughing.

"I hardly think bullying is a laughing matter," Arthur stated even though he was a bully in school, even though his bullying was caused by his brother's bullying him.

"Nyet, of course it isn't," Ivan dismissed. "Just, we came to terms when one day he sat on me and we discussed hockey."

"So you weren't upset that Matthew was dating your older sister Katsyusha?" Arthur inquired.

Ivan shook his head. "As long as he made my big sister happy and wasn't dating her just because of her colossal knockers and had the intent on hurting her, I was fine with it," he explained. "Besides, I knew he was a good person and he made big sister smile. So I was happy."

"And Yao?"

Ivan's face became seriously scary. "Listen here, I love Yao so much, he's the reason why I haven't gotten arrested in 2 years,"

"2 years?" Arthur questioned and looked at Ivan's files seeing that it was true.

"Do you have any other questions for me?" Ivan asked.

"Just one," he said looking serious. "Do you have any idea who could be the killer?"

Ivan leaned real close to the glass looking just as serious and somber. Arthur's eyes widened as the name was whispered over the receiver.

**Okay, really intense right now I know. But next chapter I reveal who the killer is! Yippee~ I'll get it out as soon as possible ^^ Just bear with me pretty please. I love you all and thank you so much for sticking with me all these months.**


	10. Noose

**Okay so this may or may not be my last chapter. It could be second to last. I hope some of you told me who you think it is! And remember the winner will get a special short story just for them. I will announce who won at the end of the chapter and they can Private Message me on what they want their short story to be about. Ready?**

**Chapter 9: Noose**

Arthur hurried to the place where Ivan lived with his comrades and called frantically for back-up claiming he knew who the real killer was. He didn't know who all would take him seriously and come but he damned well knew he was right! He just had to be! He heard the screech of tires behind him but he didn't have any time to see what caused it. He pounded on the large wooden door and kept his hand on his gun in the holster.

He waited.

"I bloody well know you're in there!" Arthur shouted. A loud crash sounded from the inside, Arthur stepped back when suddenly Ludwig whizzed past him and broke down the door with his shoulder.

Arthur ran in after him and kept his gun ready. "Come out with your hands in the air!"

He and Ludwig studied the entry way trying to look for anything wrong. The pale walls and regal furniture gave a creepy air like it was an old haunted house. They listened for the sounds of the killer.

Elizabeta walked up. "Is there a murder?"

"Shh," Arthur and Ludwig hushed her at the same time and listened again moving slowly through the house guns at the ready, Elizabeta readied her gun and followed close behind. She may have been a forensic scientist but she knew how to handle firearms. She needed to after her life was threatened on several occasions.

A small sound alerted them to upstairs. They crept up carefully up the stairs staying near the edges so the ancient steps would not creak. The sound came again. It was small and pitiful, the frame of the house creaked. A strange sound followed like static of a television.

Arthur moved carefully down the hall and pointed to the door the sound was coming from. Ludwig nodded and kicked it in. "FREEZE," he bellowed.

The sight that beheld the three was shocking. The young fourteen year old Latvian boy Raivis hung by a rope from the ceiling fan. Their jaws dropped in horror as they realized he was still alive and struggling for his life. His hands were tied in front of him and a note was taped to his red turtle neck. He twisted around and his short legs flailed wildly as they searched for the chair that was just within his reach. His face was turning blue and his motions gradually became slower and feebler.

Elizabeta was the first to snap out of shock and take action. She ran over and wrapped her arms around Raivis' waist ignoring the legs kicking her; the only thing that mattered was saving the young boy's life. She lifted him up easing his neck from the noose. He coughed, choked, and took shallow gasping breaths. His head lolled forward as he slipped into unconsciousness. Ludwig pulled out his army knife and joined in helping Elizabeta. He held Raivis up with his forearm while he sawed at the noose with his knife trying to free the poor boy. While this was going on Arthur searched the room and made sure that they were the only ones in the room.

A loud snap rang out and Raivis slid down into Elizabeta's arms. She fell to the ground from the momentum and held the boy close stroking his hair gently. "We need to take him to the hospital." She checked over him and felt sick to her stomach when she saw the fingers on his right hand were twisted in odd angles and turning into a nasty purple. They were obviously broken.

"Wait," Arthur said holding up his hand.

"What do you mean wait?" she cried. "He nearly died he needs a breathing treatment to make sure his carotid arteries aren't permanently damaged!"

"I know that!" Arthur said exasperated, he put a glove on and took the note off of Raivis' chest. "You can take him to the hospital now, Beilschmidt and I will stay here and investigate." He glanced over at the German who nodded in confirmation as he called for backup on his radio and ordered for an ambulance.

Elizabeta nodded, picked up the small frame and carried him downstairs to wait for the ambulance.

"I will assist you if needed," Ludwig said formally.

"Thank you," Arthur paused. "What made you and Hedervary come?"

"We've had our suspicions about the murders and couldn't ignore the call," he said stiffly. "We had a duty and we fulfilled it."

"I'm grateful somebody believed me," Arthur sighed and looked at the note, he furrowed his eyebrows and read:

_To whom it may concern._

_**I**__ can't take it anymore. I__** am**__ going insane. I will __**not **__hold it in. The weight of __**the murder**__ is hanging heavy over me. I am a monster. I can no longer handle the guilt of murdering Natalia, Toris, Officer Williams, and trying to kill Mr. Braginski's boyfriend Yao. I have decided to end it all and kill myself. I can't handle life anymore and I can't keep on living with the guilt. I will not go to jail for my crimes and I cannot put __**Eduard**__ in danger. He __**is**__ my only family left. I will end it before __**the**__ insanity causes me to be a __**killer **__again. __**He**__ protected me. I was angry and I __**felt Mr. Braginski should suffer**__. Goodbye everyone. I'm sorry for what I did. I will balance things out by ending my own life._

"So," Arthur said simply. "He confessed."

…

Ivan's cell door opened and he looked up from his bed.

"You have a visitor," the gruff security guard told him.

"Oh goody, two visitors in one day."

"Don't get sassy Braginski," the guard shoved him along until they got to the visitor's center. Ivan sat down in the chair and picked up the receiver.

"So, you've decided to show your face to me," Ivan chuckled. "That is not the wisest decision comrade."

Eduard laughed. "Oh but I just had to come and gloat to you."

"Why did you do this Eduard?" Ivan asked with sad eyes. "If I'm the one you're angry at why did you kill the others? Why not kill me?"

"Oh isn't it simple Ivan?" Eduard's smile turned into a cold sneer. "I wanted you to suffer."

Ivan's blood turned to ice. This man, whom he had been through so much with, wanted him to suffer. He killed 3 people just to get to Ivan.

"How did you do it?"

Eduard rested his elbows on the table and spoke matter of factly, "One of your windows has a broken lock and your loud snoring allowed me to move the furniture away from the door. After I killed your sister I hung her up on your ceiling. Toris saw me so I had to kill him. I thought about killing Katsyusha but then I decided sending her that little present and making her go insane was enough to make them believe it was you."

Ivan's eyes widen. "You were at the bar that one night several months ago and stole my boot didn't you?"

"Yes, I did and you were too stupid and stubborn to toss out the other one."

"I thought it would turn up," Ivan admitted.

Eduard rolled his eyes. "Anyway I tried to kill Yao but he hit me with that stupid pan of his." Eduard rubbed the side of his head and cringed at the memory.

"You will make a mistake soon you know," Ivan's lips curled into a smile.

"Oh I think not, because poor little troubled Raivis just admitted to all the crimes and committed suicide," he snickered and leaned close to the glass. "And I'm disappearing to Estonia tomorrow."

"I don't think so," a voice said behind Eduard. The blonde man turned suddenly where Arthur, Kiku, and Ludwig stood behind him. Eduard pursed his lips and held up his wrists which were immediately handcuffed and Ludwig read him his rights. "How did you figure it out?" Eduard asked.

"Raivis is alive and in the hospital, it takes about 7 feet to kill someone his weight and plus the noose was tied poorly so we had plenty of time to save him," Arthur replied smugly. "Plus the suicide note would have given it away even if he had died. It was rather obvious actually."

"Plus, Raivis is too small to commit any of the murders, he doesn't have the strength, height, or resources," Kiku added in.

"Well, my work here is done," Eduard said.

At that moment a security guard went over to Ivan. "Ivan Braginski you are hereby released of all crimes prosecuted against you, you will be given your belongings and you will stand in court to testify again Eduard Von Bock."

Ivan smiled at Eduard who scowled back. "Thank you for coming to visit me Eduard, I enjoyed it," he chuckled and was led away, he changed into his green corduroys, black tank top, brown boots, and large tan overcoat. He gathered his wallet, keys, and papers a genuine smile on his face. He knew that he still had plenty to face. He still had to make sure his sister was okay and help her gradually get better. He decided that he would move out of his large home and possibly move in with Yao.

Ivan broke out of his musings. As he walked away from the penitentiary a figure at the horizon caught his eye. He walked towards it quickening his pace as he went along recognizing the figure, the person was limping at a fast pace. Ivan scooped up Yao and kissed him tenderly. Yao kissed back numb to the throbbing pain in his side. He snuck out and was on his way to visit Ivan while his siblings weren't watching him. He broke the kiss smiling. "You're no longer in jail!"

"I was released just now," Ivan smiled. "They caught the real killer."

"I knew you weren't the real killer," Yao said. "Who was it?"

"Eduard."

Yao gasped. "No!"

Ivan nodded, "They arrested him, he won't be killing anyone anymore," he said. "I'm ready to go home now."

"I'll cook you some food," Yao said poking Ivan's stomach. "You're too thin, like gorilla instead of panda. I'll fatten you right up. Plus you need to shower, you smell like piss."

Ivan chuckled and listened happily to Yao's ramblings, for once feeling at peace and worry-free.


End file.
